All posts tagged Gene O’Neill

Did you happen to catch my interview with Weston Ochse? In that interview I talk about sitting with Wes at the HWA’s table at the Book Expo America convention, which remains one of my favorite events I’ve ever attended…for several reasons.

I’ll explain.

First off, I got to meet a lot of people I now hold as dear friends. (I remember sitting in the little backseat of Lisa Morton’s short crew pickup, my knees crammed into my chin and a pile of boxes leaning against my head, talking with Gene O’Neill about his history as a boxer, for example.) It was my first introduction to major conventions and all that they can do for an author’s career; which is, believe me, an article all unto itself.

Secondly, it introduced me to life as a professional writer, which at the time, I’ll honestly say, I didn’t put in the same sentence with my own literary efforts. But Lisa Morton helped to change that. This was the woman who pulled me aside and said she thought I had a promising career ahead of me. She was, in so many ways, the gatekeeper for my transition from interested hobbyist to pro. I can’t thank her enough for giving me that early confidence. I’ve often wondered how you can repay that sort of early helping hand up, and the only thing that comes to mind is mentorship. Lisa was there for me when there was no formalized such thing as a mentorship, and I have tried to emulate that same voice of confidence and experience when I myself became a mentor. I can think of no higher words of praise to say to a senior fellow than thank you; and to you, Lisa, I say a sincere and honest “Thank you! You rock!”

She has won her share of Stoker awards. She has turned out stories that challenge our view of how things should be (Don’t believe me, check out her story “Sparks Fly Upwards” – it’s one of my favorites.), written novels that reimagine our idea of the monster, and highlighted the fact that women deserve a bigger presence in the horror genre. (To this day I would love to see Lisa Morton write the feminist take on the Last Girl trope. I would stand in line for that short story.) And in the course of becoming a leading voice in the horror community, she has also managed to become the leading authority on Halloween. That’s not hyperbole, either. She really is the world’s leading authority on Halloween. (Check this out to see what I mean.)

But enough of that. I can go on all day about Lisa Morton, because I love her so. All you really need is to read her, and I’m presenting that opportunity now. Please enjoy!

Joe McKinney: Thanks for joining me here on Old Major’s Dream. I’m glad you could swing by. You’re no stranger to zombie fiction. Would you mind telling the folks out there a little about your zombie-related writing? How do you approach the genre?

Lisa Morton: I’m occasionally shocked to realize that I’ve written enough zombie short fiction to fill a book! Most recently I’ve been part of the two shared-world Zombie Apocalypse anthologies edited by Stephen Jones, and I’m currently working on a tie-in novel called Zombie Apocalypse: Washington Deceased.

Zombies are us, with our personalities scrubbed out and replaced by the most basic, most primitive of needs (to feed). They’re not sensual and intelligent like vampires, savage like werewolves, or mysterious like ghosts; they’re just blank. Because of the blankness, they’re like the horror equivalent of an erased blackboard that you can write anything on. Religious allegory, political commentary, social satire…the zombie story can easily become any of those.

JM: The zombie apocalypse is happening right now. Are you prepared? Would humanity win?

LM: Sorry, but I don’t see us taking great care of the joint without zombies; they’ll just make the final fade-out happen a little faster. I might last a little longer than everyone else, but I have an unfair advantage (as do you!): We’ve spent more time thinking about this stuff than everyone else.

JM: What’s your favorite zombie book, movie, short story, whatever? (Please feel free to ramble as much or as little as you like here. I’d love to know why that story or movie or whatever grabs you.)

LM: I’ve got to go with Romero’s original Dawn of the Dead. I saw it in on opening night, when I was in my second year of film school. A teacher’s assistant who knew I liked horror insisted that we go; I’d somehow never seen Night of the Living Dead, and had absolutely no idea what I was in for. And yeah, it pretty much destroyed me. I didn’t sleep that night. I couldn’t get it out of my head. It took me a while to realize that what bothered me wasn’t even so much the idea of the hungry dead as it was the living survivors, sealing themselves away in a shopping mall. One of the great scenes in movie history for me is when Fran, the female lead, kind of wakes up and says, “What are we doing here?” Horror movie as rejection of consumer society…I’d certainly never imagined anything that subversive.

I also have to give a shout-out to the follow-up, Day of the Dead, which I think is an extraordinary and underrated film. The way Day suggests that the ultimate breakdown comes as the result of a battle between right (the military) and left (science) seems more and more prescient.

JM: What’s your favorite zombie kill scene of all time?

LM: Does it have to be a zombie being killed, or can it be zombies doing the killing? If it’s the latter, I’m going with the end of Day, when the zombies rip apart the military leader Rhodes who screams “Choke on it!” while he watches parts of himself being eaten. I even love the way Romero cuts back a couple of times to parts of Rhodes being dragged around the abandoned facility by listless zombies.

JM: I’ve always felt the best and most effective horror is trying to investigate what we think of ourselves and what it means to be us. Washington Irving’s tales, for instance, generally grapple with the question of what it means to be an American in the post-Revolutionary War period. Nathaniel Hawthorne battled with the intellectual promise of a nation rising to international credibility while simultaneously choking under the yolk of a Puritan past. Stephen King made a name for himself chronicling the slow collapse of the American small town way of life. What do you think the zombie and its current popularity is telling us about ourselves?

LM: That we fear we are being erased by the very culture that tells us to be unique, that sells us products by subtly preying on our fear that we’re really not different at all. That dread of conformity works two ways in the zombie mythos: By turning the dead into one big, indistinguishable hungry mass, and by suggesting that the living are nothing but walking meat lockers. It strips intellect, emotion, and self from all of us, and replaces it with nothing but consumption and gore. Yeah, that’s pretty terrifying.

Do you remember the old Ace Doubles? I had a ton of them growing up. Their distinctive white and blue spines and tete-beche formatting were instantly recognizable, and the works themselves the very model of everything that was cool about classic space opera science fiction.

Well, JournalStone Publishing is bringing the concept back…and I get to be a part of it!

Today, JournalStone Publishing founder and Editor-in-Chief Christopher C. Payne made public the launch of JournalStone’s Double Down series. These books will feature a short novel from an already established author paired with another short novel from a talented up and coming writer. I’m going to be working with my good friend, Sanford Allen. (You can learn more about Sanford here.) Sanford and I belong to a writing group called Drafthouse, and over the years I have watched Sanford’s style develop and his voice become stronger and clearer. Part rocker, part reporter, part poet of the weird, Sanford tells one hell of a good yarn, and he has a passion for music that rings through every word he writes. When JournalStone approached me with the concept, and asked me if I had a talented undiscovered writer I’d be willing to work with, I immediately thought of Sanford. I’m a huge fan of his stuff, and I think the rest of the world will be too after they see the novel he’s going to be publishing.

Our book will be coming out in the Summer of 2013, but there will be others in this ongoing series. Right now, JournalStone has signed six teams, and more will follow in the next few months. For now, here’s the lineup:

Gene O’Neill and Chris Mars

Gord Rollo and Rena Mason

Lisa Morton and Eric Guignard

Joe McKinney and Sanford Allen

Harry Shannon and Brett Talley

Jonathan Maberry and a writer yet to be determined

JournalStone Publishing is a small press company focusing on Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror, but they are large on quality and have a high level of commitment to putting out the best fiction available. President and Editor-in-Chief Christopher C. Payne has led JS on a rapid climb to public recognition and respect within the professional writing community. In fact, they were recently featured on the April issue of Publishers Weekly. I’m excited to be working with them, and even more excited to be working with Sanford on what I think is going to be one of the best series in last two decades. You can learn more about JournalStone here.

Under the onslaught of supernatural evil, the acts of good people can seem insignificant, but a courageous few stand apart. These brave men and women stand up to the darkness, stare it right in the eye, and give it the finger. These are the stories of those who rage against the night, stories of triumph, sacrifice, and bravery in the face of overwhelming evil.

Rocky Wood – Bram Stoker Award™-winning author, Stephen King scholar, and president of the Horror Writers Association – is one of the bravest men I know. Diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, Rocky has nonetheless set out to redefine the Horror Writers Association as the inclusive voice of the horror community. From his home inAustralia, Rocky travels the world, attending many conventions each year, in order to foster that sense of community among writers, publishers, agents and other industry professionals.

I call him the bravest man I know because he towers above the obstacles in his way, not only the ALS, which is a mountain of an obstacle in and of itself, but also the headstrong egos and maddening politics that always seem to plague groups of creative people. He is a model of teamwork, relentless energy, and above all, vision. In just a few short years he has created a legacy in the HWA that will define the organization for decades to come. Positive change and a spirit of renewed enthusiasm follow him everywhere. For all those reasons, I am in awe of him, and for all those reasons, I am honored to call him my friend.

So, imagine my surprise – and pleasure! – when Shane Jiraiya Cummings contacted me about donating a story for an anthology to help Rocky Wood with some of his medical expenses. I couldn’t say yes fast enough! “What’s the theme?” I asked. “How soon do you need it?”

Shane’s idea was a collection of stories showcasing good triumphing over evil. He said it was the perfect testament to Rocky, and I agreed on the spot.

The story I sent Shane was “The Gunner’s Love Song,” one of my earliest. In it, a young man comes home toEast Texasshortly after World War II to find his cousin, who has a heavy speech impediment and a reputation for being a little slow, suddenly villainized by their town because of his romance with a woman rumored to be a werewolf.

Fans of Manly Wade Wellman will undoubtedly see my influences shining through in this story; and believe me, I had a hard time resisting the urge to go back through the tale and “clean it up a bit,” to sort of buff out the obvious Wellman touches. But I resisted because “The Gunner’s Love Song” has something special to it. It has a lot of Wellman, to be sure, but it has a lot of me, too. In fact, it was the first time I remember feeling my own voice surging through in the fiction. The story is genuine. It’s a little raw, perhaps, but it’s me, and I see in this story the elements that would take hold and grow in my later fiction: themes like a sense of optimism that’s been tested and tempered by trial and the importance of good guardianship.

In short, the story worked for me, and when I sent it to Shane, he agreed.

Apparently he really agreed, for he chose it as the lead-off story in a collection that features an amazing roster of creative talent. Check out this table of contents:

The Gunner’s Love Song—Joe McKinney

Keeping Watch—Nate Kenyon

Like Part of the Family—Jonathan Maberry

The Edge of Seventeen—Alexandra Sokoloff

The View from the Top—Bev Vincent

Afterward, There Will Be a Hallway—Gary A. Braunbeck

Following Marla—John R. Little

Magic Numbers—Gene O’Neill

Tail the Barney—Stephen M. Irwin

The Nightmare Dimension—David Conyers

Roadside Memorials—Joseph Nassise

Dat Tay Vao—F. Paul Wilson

Constitution—Scott Nicholson

Mr. Aickman’s Air Rifle—Peter Straub

Agatha’s Ghost—Ramsey Campbell

Blue Heeler—Weston Ochse

Sarah’s Visions—Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

More Than Words—David Niall Wilson

Chillers—Lisa Morton

Changed—Nancy Holder

Dead Air—Gary Kemble

Two Fish to Feed the Masses—Daniel G. Keohane

Fenstad’s End—Sarah Langan

Fair Extension—Stephen King

Rocky Wood, Skeleton Killer—Jeff Strand

You can pick up the print edition here (Amazon) and here (Barnes & Noble), the Kindle edition here, the Nook edition here, and the Smashwords edition here.

I just received the following press release from the Horror Writers Association. I am absolutely over the moon to learn that my novel, Flesh Eaters, was nominated in the Best Novel category! There are so many great writers and works on this year’s list that I’m a little overwhelmed with the company. My heartfelt congratulations to all the nominees.

Now, to cross my fingers and wait for the announcement in Salt Lake City…

Horror Writers Association announces 2011 Bram Stoker Award™ Nominees Each year, the Horror Writers Association presents the Bram Stoker Awards™ for Superior Achievement in the field of horror writing, named in honor of Bram Stoker, author of the seminal horror work Dracula. Since 1987, the approximately 700 members of the HWA have recommended, nominated and voted on the greatest works of horror and dark fantasy of the previous calendar year, making the Bram Stoker Awards the most prestigious award in the field of horror literature.

For the first time in 2011, half the nominees were chosen by juries. The awards are presented in eleven categories: Novel, First Novel, Young Adult Novel, Graphic Novel, Long Fiction, Short Fiction, Screenplay, Fiction Collection, Anthology, Non-fiction, and Poetry Collection. The organization’s Active and Lifetime members will select the winners from this list of nominees; and the Awards will be presented at a gala banquet on Saturday evening, March 31, at the World Horror Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah.

I just received the following announcement from the Horror Writers Association’s webmaster. The final ballot for the HWA’s 2009 Bram Stoker Award is out, and I’m happy to say that my novel Quarantined made the list. Congrats to all the nominees!

Horror Writers Association announces
2009 Bram Stoker Award Nominees

Each year, the Horror Writers Association presents the Bram Stoker Awards for Superior Achievement in the field of horror writing, named in honor of Bram Stoker, author of the seminal horror work Dracula. Since 1987, the approximately 500 members of the HWA have recommended, nominated and voted on the greatest works of horror and dark fantasy of the previous calendar year, making the Stokers the most prestigious award in the field of horror literature.

Currently the awards are presented in eight categories: Novel, First Novel, Long Fiction, Short Fiction, Fiction Collection, Anthology, Non-fiction, and Poetry Collection. The organization’s Active members will select the winners from this ballot; voting will close on March 3rd, and the awards will be presented this year at a gala banquet on Saturday evening, March 27, at the World Horror Convention in Brighton, UK.

Martyrs and Monsters by Robert Dunbar (Dark Hart Press)
Got to Kill Them All and Other Stories by Dennis Etchison (Cemetery Dance)
A Taste of Tenderloin by Gene O’Neill (Apex Book Company)
In the Closet, Under the Bed by Lee Thomas (Dark Scribe Press)

Trapped for nearly three weeks in their four room cabin atop California’s Mt. George, college English professor Jacob Zachary and his wife and son have finally managed to shovel enough snow out of the way to brave a drive into town. But what they discover is a land of falling ash and burned buildings. The apocalypse, in the form of nuclear war, has come, and without even realizing it, Jacob Zachary and his clan are among the few survivors. What follows is Jacob’s attempts to keep his family healthy and united. But of course things are never as easy as they should be.

The Confessions of St. Zach is from the wonderfully talented pen of Gene O’Neill, whose previous foray into the apocalypse, the novel The Burden of Indigo, was among the finest pieces of apocalyptic science fiction I have ever read (and I’ve read a lot of it, believe me). It is a short book of only some 55 pages, but it is a big story. It is part gut-wrenching drama about the loss of our humanity, part fable of hope for a new beginning, and in that respect it captures the two finest themes of all apocalyptic literature. If you liked The Day of the Triffids, Damnation Alley, A Canticle for Leibowitz, or even Alas, Babylon, you will at once recognize this book’s pedigree, and at the same appreciate how it takes a familiar theme into exciting new directions. This one is highly recommended.

I just wanted to share some pictures from my book signing at Dark Delicacies back in May. In addition to meeting two of the best hosts a man could ask for in Del and Sue Howison, I got the rare privilege of visiting with Steve and Melanie Tem and Richard Dean Starr. Richard, as it turns out, is one of the coolest guys on the planet. We talked about his Kolchak series and his upcoming Tales of Zorro project, which I can’t wait to read. And the Tems were wonderful. I think my first comment to them was something stupid like, “Do the two of you have any idea how many of the books on my shelves at home have the two of you in them?!” Luckily for me, they are as gracious as they are talented.

And then there were these two guys: Weston Ochse and Gene O’Neill. We met over margaritas at a little Mexican food place down the street from Dark Delicacies and had a great time. Gene is an ex-boxer and the author of a fantastic apocalyptic novella entitled The Confessions of St. Zach. We talked about boxing and about writing from life experiences, and I can tell you this now, there are very few authors out there who are more passionate about what they do and where they came from than Gene O’Neill.

Meeting Weston Ochse was one the highlights of my trip to Los Angeles. Weston is the author of the Bram Stoker Award-winning novel Scarecrow Gods and a self-professed Cowboy in the Boat of Ra. We traveled the floor of the Staple Center for two days during the Book Expo America 2008 show, meeting other authors and talking about life and writing, and I had a great time. Can’t wait to see all of you again.